2D Bodies: Depictions of Youthful Bodies
It is no surprise that youthful bodies are one of the most portrayed objects of in anime, manga and video games (collectively termed “2D,” in this section). Various Japanese media feature narratives taking place in school settings, and refer to the high school years as the epitome of youth. However, 2D depictions of youth in the school genre are also juxtaposed with other common themes of Japanese fantasy, such as transformation (henshin) and sexual subtext (ecchi) (Napier 2005), which are both exemplified completely in the magical girl (mahou shoujo) genre featuring schoolgirls alluringly transforming into superheroines equipped with magical powers.
Fantasies and desires surround the youthful body both in 2D and in reality (3D). However, through animation, these previously unrealized dreams can be achieved through fiction and transformations. Young people, especially, find themselves at threshold separating naïve childhood, and the grim future of being an adult, and their bodies become a site of turbulent emotions; on one side there is the desperate attempt to escape the stigmatized label of being a child, while on the other are efforts to delay the social responsibilities that burden the adult body. The fantasy of escaping this predicament of identity construction via the physical body is realized in the many 2D depictions of youthful bodies. Characters are able to transform and enhance their bodies through training, magic, or simply through sheer willpower.
In a different sense, the youthful bodies portrayed in 2D media also mirror a similar, transformative fantasy held by Japan as a country (Napier 2005). The unstable development of the country itself, following the postwar era, demonstrated its economic recovery to the world; yet the country fell victim to its own hubris of uncontrolled economic growth that resulted in the collapse of the bubble in the 1990’s. Similarly, young people often find themselves in tumultuous situations throughout the high school and post-high school years, and overestimate their bodies’ capabilities when engaging in (self-) destructive behavior, leading to physical and/or emotional injuries. What is left is a damaged body abandoned by a larger group (for Japan, the relegation of its global status as a leading economic superpower; for youth, the marginalization from career security the late-capitalist society). The depictions of the youthful body in 2D media, therefore, represents not only the fantasy of obtaining a more desirable body in youth, but also the vision for a stronger, more capable status in the country, paved by the efforts of these idealized youthful bodies.
Fantasies and desires surround the youthful body both in 2D and in reality (3D). However, through animation, these previously unrealized dreams can be achieved through fiction and transformations. Young people, especially, find themselves at threshold separating naïve childhood, and the grim future of being an adult, and their bodies become a site of turbulent emotions; on one side there is the desperate attempt to escape the stigmatized label of being a child, while on the other are efforts to delay the social responsibilities that burden the adult body. The fantasy of escaping this predicament of identity construction via the physical body is realized in the many 2D depictions of youthful bodies. Characters are able to transform and enhance their bodies through training, magic, or simply through sheer willpower.
In a different sense, the youthful bodies portrayed in 2D media also mirror a similar, transformative fantasy held by Japan as a country (Napier 2005). The unstable development of the country itself, following the postwar era, demonstrated its economic recovery to the world; yet the country fell victim to its own hubris of uncontrolled economic growth that resulted in the collapse of the bubble in the 1990’s. Similarly, young people often find themselves in tumultuous situations throughout the high school and post-high school years, and overestimate their bodies’ capabilities when engaging in (self-) destructive behavior, leading to physical and/or emotional injuries. What is left is a damaged body abandoned by a larger group (for Japan, the relegation of its global status as a leading economic superpower; for youth, the marginalization from career security the late-capitalist society). The depictions of the youthful body in 2D media, therefore, represents not only the fantasy of obtaining a more desirable body in youth, but also the vision for a stronger, more capable status in the country, paved by the efforts of these idealized youthful bodies.
References
- Napier, Susan Jolliffe. "Body, Metamorphosis, Identity." Anime from Akira to Howl's Moving Castle: Experiencing Contemporary Japanese Animation. New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2005. 35-38. Print.
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